Dyspnea and quality of life indicators in hospice patients and their caregivers

Abstract

This study describes the assessment of dyspnea, symptom distress, and quality of life measures in 163 hospice patients with cancer who reported dyspnea. Mean age of the hospice patient sample was 70.22 years and 61.86 for caregivers (65% were spouses). The majority of patients and caregivers were white: 87%, 63% of the patients were male while 78% of caregivers were female. Mean dyspnea intensity as reported by patients was 4.52 (SD 2.29) and caregivers, 4.39 (SD 2.93). Patients' and caregivers' ratings of the patient's dyspnea intensity revealed no significant differences in ratings thus verifying that caregivers can assess dyspnea severity accurately. Patients' perceived quality of life ratings were not significantly correlated with ratings of their caregivers' perceived quality of life. For patients, symptom distress and education were significant predictors of variance in quality of life (R2 = .35, p = .04). However, mastery, symptom distress, age, and education were found to be significant predictors of variance in quality of life of caregivers (R2 = .40, p = .02). © 2003 Moody and McMillan; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.